Group Discussions

Do you even TRY to work while your kids are awake?

I am lucky enough that the kids are in school so I am able to get work done while they are gone. Once they get home I settle them in with snack and homework and that buys me at least another hour to get things done.

I also work a bit once they are asleep as long as I am able to keep my eyes open too.

Hi I'm new here and a new mom and I also work from home. Most of the time I have to wait for mu husband to come home to be able to do any work. My son is teething now and it is really hard to do anything during the day.

I find it nearly impossible to work on my computer while he is awake. He gets into stuff that he shouldn't. But it's ok to do a few short phone calls and some housework. When he's awake, it's best to spend fun time with him - that's my resolution to the problem.

My tots will usually let me work for an hour or two at a time. They know that if they cross a certain line, I'll restrict their activity, and they are pretty well-disciplined most of the time. When they were younger, I routinely put them in their "pen" to play for an hour at a time, but now (since about age 1.5), they do fine having free range in the house or in the backyard (with me working at a window where I can see them). They will get quiet and say "shh" when someone is on the phone and are pretty good about respecting work equipment / papers and such. I still have to keep one ear focused on them, but I can get work done.

I'm not really sure whether I did anything to bring about their cooperativeness. They have always been fairly calm and aware of rules. I am pretty consistent about enforcing the rules - a repeat offense results in having to "sit" for progressive periods of time; fighting over a toy results in the toy being taken from both; stuff like that. Another thing I do is communicate clearly about what I expect, and what they can expect (e.g., I need to sit here for x minutes and you need to play outside, then we will do y), and follow through on what I say.

It does get easier!
As a mother of 6 ranging from 3- 19 I have had the fun of learning to work throught all the differant stages of childhood.
i personally like to work for long streachs of time..get me from point A to b with no interuption please, However that is not how it has worked out wtih my crew.
Now that the youngest is in preschool it is amazing how much I can get done in 3 hours!
Befor that though we had a routine...breakfast together then 1 hour of TV while I got basics done then we read together and got dressed. Went for a morning walk, snack, then I would get 30 minute of work time while the lil ones played by my desk. Then it was time to get older kids from school, nap time ( which I take with them for the first hour) get an hour of work while they(babies) finished their nap and I assisted the older ones with homework and did a lil bit of work myself.
2 days a week I paid my older daughter for 1.5 hours of baby sitting ( I have gf who pays the 12 year old next door to come be a mothers helper while she works at home...great afforable arrangment)
The after the kids where in bed I did a few hours of work.
I do perfer it now...3 hours in the morning, totally devoted mama during the day and 4 hours after their in bed.

I just work (blog) throughout the day. Not to say I am not getting up every 3 minutes to tear up a fight or change a diaper or whatever... I do my reviews at night when the kids are in bed, so I can think!! That is my time. Yes, I have become quite the night owl, HOOT HOOT

When my son was very little I only worked when he was asleep. I used to get up at 5 or 6 am to get a few hours of work in the morning. Now he is in school most of the day, and when he comes back I let him play some wee to get more done.

I can turn my back on my 13 month-old a few times a day for maybe 20 minutes at a time. But I have to keep an ear out for which room she is in and what she's playing with. I've got a brand new start-up business that really demands about 60 hours/week, so right now I'm just not sleeping. Oh, I nap with her during the day sometimes. And I may catch 3-4 hours at night. But, ladies, there could be a train wreck on the horizon. It's not healthy, I don't think...